People that come into our chiropractic clinic for treatment after lumbar disc herniation or disc bulging frequently have a history of pain which is worse in the morning and then improves after they’ve been up moving around for a bit.
Often they have some questions about what exercises and stretches they can do in the morning to make them feel better. We learned more about morning back pain in a disc – injured patient after the research of Michael Adams in the 1980s.(1,2) Adams referred to the “diurnal behavior of the disc” which mostly refers to the tendency for the discs to absorb moisture from the tissues around them overnight.
The discs soak up the fluids from the tissues around them while a person is recumbent in bed overnight. So in the morning when they wake up the outer layers of the disc are under a bit more tension, which we refer to as hydrostatic pressure.
In turn, the disc becomes a bit more plump, adding pressure to nerves and surroundingstructors.
So what should you do? Once you get out of bed you should not bend over right away. Try to keep your back straight or try stretching backward .
Next, use your hips to bend over the sink to brush your teeth.
A straight back using my hips to bend over.Bending at the lumbar spine causing lots of pressure on the lumbar discs
The above picture is a great way to cause sharp shooting pain in the morning.
Try to sit up straight or use a back support in the small of your back like in the picture above.
Sitting with a more normal curve in the lumbar spine helps take the pressure off of the lumbar discs and helps decrease pain.
A wrong way to sit
Sitting like this cause more disc pressure causing disc irritation. It can cause the disc to bulge more.
Discs are fatter in the morning because the absorb fluid overnight. So think of a jelly doughnut if the doughnut has more jelly its more likely to shoot out if you put pressure on it.
So remember back straight, stomach tight will help prevent lower back pain and help you heal if you have pain.
A weak core can increase your chances for lower extremity injury during exercise!
The core is important for your lower back and neck health for sure. It’s also very important for extremity health. If you have been dealing with an arm or leg injury (extremity) that has not been getting better with treatment, it might be good to add in some core exercise to improve outcomes.
Take Home Message from the study: A college freshman with dynamic postural control limb imbalances, decreased hip extension strength, or decreased core muscle endurance during bridging exercises is more likely to develop a lower extremity overuse injury.
Ok, we’ve worked on any muscle imbalances, fixed any joints that needed fixing and now we’re working on running form. What’s next is everyone’s favorite: running shoes
Let’s talk about running shoes!
When I’m looking for a running shoe these are the things I look for:
Heel to toe drop:
This a zero drop shoe. That means the heel and toe are at the same level.
Here’s a large heel drop.
Now which one to choose?
You can not use a zero drop shoe if you were using a running shoe (with a large heel drop) like the one above your whole life. Doing that you would destroy your Achilles tendon and calves.
I would suggest using the lowest heel to toe drop you can tolerate. better to error on a bigger drop then lesser drop. You can always go lower the next shoe. This will lower your chance of soreness. Remember change can take time, don’t rush things
2. Where the shoe bends:
I like the shoe to bend where my big toe bends which is the “knuckle” part of the big toe. It only makes sense that the shoe bends where the body bends.
3. The toe box:
The toe box is the space around the toes. Take your foot out of the shoe or sneaker and take a look. I bet it does not look like your shoe. Most people don’t have elf shaped feet.
A big toe box gives more room for your foot and toes. The second picture is an insert( black one) from a shoe with a big toe box. My foot does not spill over the insert(green one) like the first picture.
If you have any question please call the office! Or you could bring your shoe in and we can go over it in person.
